


Family Matters

by Project0506



Series: Soft Wars [137]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Brothers, Brothers being assholes, Gen, Humor, Meet the Family, Star Wars AU - Soft Wars, brothers being brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28874229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Project0506/pseuds/Project0506
Summary: Torrent's shipping out someplace a little too dangerous for a Padawan.  Wolffe babysits.  Waxer objects.
Series: Soft Wars [137]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683775
Comments: 37
Kudos: 399





	Family Matters

None of them are going to comment on the elephant not in the room, it seems. Everyone’s thinking it. There’s a cluster of Ghosts in the far corner idly playing something that involves passing series of colored stones to others in the circle in no order Cody can discern, but their attentions never stray long from the rec room door. Not too far from them, Jedi exchange pleasantries and gossip-

‘ _Provide updates_ , Cody,’ General Kenobi would lie grumpily, if he’d heard.

\- but they too find their attention wandering towards the entrance. Waxer compulsively checks his comm. There’s probably a wager going on somewhere. Someone’s probably going to make a killing.

After all, General Plo Koon has been in the 212th’s recreation spaces for going on a half hour already and there’s been no sign of Wolffe. Before today, the longest they’d managed that was eighteen minutes. And that was because Lt Sinker was on General-Koon-Watching-Duty and got lost on the way.

It’s a little adorable, how Wolffe firmly believes the cosmos will split in twain, fire will rain from the heavens, vode will suddenly become furry quadrupeds, ration pack ingredient lists will become intelligible, all manner of signs of apocalypse will infect the galaxy if the Wolfpack were to let General Koon out of their sight for any stretch. The next time he annoys Cody enough to put him in a headlock, Cody will be sure to rub his nose in that fact.

At the 31 minute mark the doors whoosh open, and in Cody’s missing vod strides. “Apologies for being late,” he says, as if this was a meeting. As if he’d been invited. As if he wasn’t unrepentantly gate-crashing his General’s social engagement. “Had to detour through Torrent before they shipped out to the front.”

“Who won the pot?” Cody murmurs to Waxer. It’s clear from his expression that it’s neither him nor Boil. 

“Bore,” Waxer mutters resentfully. One day the 212th will learn not to bet against their medics. Cody seems to be the only one who’s realized they’re all blatantly cheating.

There’s a second person following along in Wolffe’s wake, a Torguta child trotting merrily to keep up with Wolffe’s typical distance-eating stride.

“Hi Master Plo, Master Kenobi,” they chirp and wave.

“Little ‘Soka, hello,” General Koon greets warmly.

“Padawan Tano,” Cody’s General says at nearly the same time, and just as warm. “That’s quite a new look for you.”

Padawan Tano wrinkles their nose. “Ugh. _Kix_ ,” they groan. They tug at the straps of their 501st blue-striped breastplate unhappily. The lines are intricately detailed to match the shapes of their head stripes. “He _fusses_ masters, it’s awful.”

“But you’re going to keep it on,” Wolffe interjects. “Because I don’t want to have to deal with him if you don’t.” He herds them as professionally as he herds his Wolfpack over to the table Cody and Waxer had made their own.

It is conveniently between their General and the main entrance. It’s far enough away from the couches where the Generals are sharing _updates_ to feign privacy, but close enough for a speedy intervention of something goes to kriff. It’s a social engagement with a known entity, but best be prepared for anything.

Well. Cody never said he and his men _weren’t_ hypocrites.

“That’s my little brother Cody,” Wolffe introduces brusquely. “And his minion.” Waxer makes immediate sounds of offense. Cody doesn’t bother with more than a glare. Wolffe, as is typical, ignores them both entirely. “Boys this is my grandpadawan Ahsoka.” From the Generals there’s a sudden coughing and a bewildered ‘what’. Wolffe ignores that too. “Don’t kark with her, she’s pointy. You have your Astro-Nav homework?”

Ahsoka looks about as enthused about her homework as the average trooper looks about sanitation duty the night after the mess serves beans. Wolffe professionally prods her through digging that out of her pack and harries her through getting started on it.

Satisfied, Wolffe retreats to hover like a specter in parade rest behind his General.

The room is filled with awkward silences and uncomprehending stares. The vode in the stone-passing-game seem to forget their own rules and the tiny baubles miss hands and clatter to the tabletop. Cody’s General has a teacup paused halfway to his mouth. Cody is almost painfully amused.

“Wait,” Waxer rallies first, and he rounds on Cody filled with righteous betrayal. “Wait _Torrent_ gets to keep their kids with them? Commander!”

“Pa~da~wan,” Ahsoka sing-songs under her breath. It’s clearly a conversation she’s had before.

“What’s a padawan?” Waxer asks.

“A Jedi cadet,” Wolffe answers, the kind of confident that says Rex made him a holopresentation with that exact wording. Because Rex is actually a nerd and Cody adores his fuzzy nerdy head. He’s sure the briefing packet Rex will mock up for him, when he gets the moment to introduce his Jedi to his _ ori'vod _1 properly, will also be entirely hilariously thorough. “They stick them with a squad to get some supervised battlefield experience until they’re tall enough to send out shiny.”

“Oh,” Waxer says, somewhat mollified. “That makes sense.”

“ _Does it?_ ” General Kenobi, chokes softly.

“Eh,” Ahsoka says. She lifts her left hand and battle-signs ‘ _Approximate’_ smoothly. “You just learn to go with it Masters.”

“And Ahsoka is your grandpadawan?” General Koon asks, his voice amused. Wolffe shrugs.

“She’s Rex’s. And Rex is my little brother. I raised him.”

“Oh did you?” Cody cuts in.

“I raised him myself,” Wolffe insists. He smirks toothily at Cody. Looks like they’re overdue for another _friendly_ spar. “Bly helped sometimes.” Yeah, Cody’s going to put his face right to the mats.

He signs an expletive. Wolffe grins. Ahsoka giggles. Wolffe grins harder, and Cody knows that little slip is going to make it right back to Rex sharpish. Wolff is safe for now, while Cody is polite enough not to crush him in front of his General. Later though? Well.

Wolffe casually tips his shoulders away from Cody in silent, dramatic dismissal. And people think _Ponds_ is the showy one.

“Far as we figure it, that makes her basically my grandpadawan,” the pilot continues as if the previous byplay never happened. “Besides, we’re training her too. Rex says the Wolfpack can take her out and teach her to run a hunt to ground properly.” Ahsoka’s head shoots up so fast Cody was half concerned she’d break her own neck. Her inner eyelids flutter rapidly and the very ends of her … are they still lekku, on Togruta? The ends of her lekku freeze in predatory anticipation. Wolffe smirks where she can’t see it. “ _After_ ,” he says pointedly, “she finishes her Astro-Nav homework.”

Ahsoka glares at her homework. She flings herself back against the chair with a clack of her armor, arms and lekku and legs dangling morosely. She sighs, full-chested and beset. She has tiny, needle-like incisors. It’s unbearably cute.

“Perfectly logical reasoning as ever, Commander” General Koon agrees cheerfully. As if he wouldn’t: everyone knows he absolutely spoils the Wolfpack. Wolffe hasn’t been this uppity in _cycles_.

General Kenobi groans, pained, and presses at the bridge of his nose. Wolffe's General is clearly laughing at him and Cody's glares back over the delicate rim of his teacup.

They’ll have a spar later, friendly of course. All flashing lightsabers and showy flips and perfectly polite trash talk.

‘ _Distraction tactics_ , Cody,’ General Kenobi would lie. Cody knows a good vod drubbing when he sees one. He’d been told all his life that Jedi were solitary creatures. But General Koon is General Kenobi’s ori’vod; what other relationships are they allowed to have?

“Commander,” Waxer hisses urgently before Cody’s mind wanders off too far. He glances back at Rex’s Ahsoka with a look Cody’s learned intimately from Ponds. “How do we get a padawan? Is there a form?”

A Commander is required to support his General. “As I understand it, the Jedi council assigns them.” In this one instance, Cody is all too willing to throw his General under the speeder and clear out. He’s also learned that lesson with Ponds. Waxer immediately turns wide, pleading eyes to their General, conveniently one of two Jedi council members within hearing range. _ Kot _2, Cody mouths at his General’s incredulous betrayal. Cody doesn’t think he imagines General Kenobi flushing pleased at the teasing.

“General! Sir, can we have a padawan? We’re at least as good as _Torrent_!”

“ _Hey!_ ”

Waxer shoots Ahsoka an apologetic look but doesn’t take it back. His fingers are tapping frantically at his comm and out of the corner of his eye Cody can see the heads of curious brothers peering in to see what’s going on. The stone-passing cluster is casually drifting their way, completely coincidentally Cody’s sure.

“Boil, hey come meet the Jedi cadet the Jedi council _assigned Torrent_ even though Ghost don’t have one.”

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Older Brother. Back  
> 2\. Strength. If this is your first time dabbling in this little universe of mine, know that this is an in-joke that started [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23407009). Back  
> 


End file.
